On the HahaFiction shelf
The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83¼ Years Old
Hendrik Groen · Book 1 · 2017
At 83, Hendrik Groen has started keeping a private record of life in his Amsterdam care home. He and his friend Evert recruit fellow residents into the Old-But-Not-Dead Club, arranging escapes from the daily routine. The arrival of Eefje gives Hendrik another reason to care about tomorrow.
From the publisher’s blurb
“an old man who is young at heart”Read the full description at Grand Central Publishing
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What makes it funny?
In the opening diary entries, a resident sits on a plate of pastries. Evert supplies the joke; Hendrik laughs, receives disapproving looks and promptly apologizes. Readers in book groups enjoy this funny, reflective narrator and single out his resolve to spend the time he has left pleasantly, without taking everything so seriously.
The comedy at work
Hendrik writes down the sharp remarks he rarely dares to say aloud. That private voice lets him complain about the complainers, while his accounts of management expose a director who discovers the virtues of openness when publicity is available.
Try this if…
For readers drawn to an older narrator with a caustic private voice, close friendships and modest acts of rebellion. The care-home setting gives everyday disputes over rules and routines room to matter.
Good to know
The diary includes dementia, declining health and thoughts of death, and some entries are sad. Hester Velmans translated the novel from Dutch. On the Bright Side continues Hendrik’s diary.
A few distinguishing details
- A year of secret care-home observations
- The Old-But-Not-Dead Club
More funny diary & letters
Sources & further reading
- Penguin lists The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83¼ Years Old by Hendrik Groen, paperback ISBN 9781405924016, 400 pages.
Publisher
- Opening diary entries, Shelf Awareness
Reading sample
- Muse reader leads, November 2026, part 7
Reader discussion
- Grand Central Publishing
Publisher
- Bookreporter review by Kate Ayers
Review
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